Rockstar
by la-perla's mermaid
Summary: based on nickelback's song. I don't own any of the characters and i make no money out of this. I changed the first two chapters to make it post EitB
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: I altered the story (mostly chapter 1 and 2) so it could be post EitB some how I think it makes more sense that way, Booth will be mostly a tacit character and might make an appearance in the end but the premise is the same, the squints solve a murder by their own.

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

Cam examined the corpse in front of her. Brennan was in the platform with the rest of the squints working on an ancient Viking warrior. Brennan had stayed with Booth for most of the time during his recovery, but so was agent Perotta. Eventually Perotta's visits became more frequent everyday and to Brennan's discomfort he seemed to be more at ease with the blonde, beautiful agent than her. So instead of being by her partner's side all the time, she restricted her daily visits to a few hours a day, allowing agent Perotta to do most of the caring for Booth's recovery. He simply forgot about her and the chemistry they had shared went away with the rest of his memories, Brennan knew he would be better off with the other woman, she would understand him more than temperance ever would because they simply made a better match, and they were equals. So she resolved to be just a partner for him, she would be by his side because she owned him too much and wouldn't get in the way of his happiness but from now on the line that he placed on them a few years ago would come back as an iron wall.

In front of Camille lay Cassandra Swanson, the lead singer of a semi famous rock band, she was on tour as an opening act of an incredibly popular hard metal band called "doomsday before midnight", she was scheduled to play for four days on DC before going to New York but minutes before she was called on stage her manager found her dead with a needle stuck on her arm.

Dr. Saroyan was almost sure it was just another case of overdose, the only reason she was assigned to do the autopsy was because the case (simple or not) was of a high profile. As the autopsy progressed, some findings raised doubts about that theory, if Cassandra was a drug addict why didn't she had other needle marks on her body? The toxicology report showed a very large amount of heroine in her system, the dosage only a long term addict would use and expect to survive afterwards, aside from that no other drugs were found, not even alcohol, which was extremely rare since most drug users liked to mix several narcotics to achieve different levels of intoxication. And if that wasn't enough she looked too healthy to be a junkie.

By the time the autopsy was done, she had more questions than answers. So she went to find the only person that might help her.

………………………………………….

Dr Brennan examined the remains in the steel table of the platform, she had to admit it was nice to do her work without the pressure of finding a killer, she could now take her time to study every trace of the skeleton and how his environment was in order to cause them. Most important of all, it allowed her to take her mind of her broken heart.

-"Dr Brennan I need your opinion on something", she was slightly pleased when she saw the usually composed anthropologist almost jump out of her skin, sending some of her tools to the ground. Apparently she was so focused on her job that she didn't hear her approach.

-"Sorry I scared you"-

-"You didn't scare me! I was surprised that's all"- Brennan said blushing slightly

-"I need your help on something, I have what seems to be a case of overdose on heroine but some of my findings just don't add up"-

-"Such as…?"-

-"She doesn't strike me as a junkie, even if her background fits and I also found something in the back of her head, a concussion. It's not the COD but it was serious, first I thought she had fallen right after taking the dose."-

-"Because the body goes limp after the injection"-

-"Yes but now I'm not so sure"-

-"Very well, I'll analyze the skeleton and I'll give you a report once I know something"-

Four hours later Brennan gave her boss a file with her findings.

-"You are right there is no evidence of chronical drug abuse, there is a large lesion on the occipital bone that extends almost to the oval foramen, there are blood vessels on the fractures which indicates it was perimortem, I gave a copy of the file to Angela, judging by the angle of the fall we might see if it was an accident or not."-

-"great, I notified the FBI just in case, they're still convinced it's just an overdose so they sent us a rookie, but given the fact that we still can't prove otherwise and Booth is physically well but his memory is still gone we'll have to deal with it."-

By the end of the day there had been much progress with the Viking warrior, but Cassandra's death was a mystery, Angela determined it was impossible that the lesion was caused by falling accidentally but if she was pushed it was from a weird angle.

It was late and all her co-workers had gone home but Brennan had no intention to do so, she knew that if she wanted to deal with both remains she would have to work extra hours.

-"Sweetie you're going home…now."-

For the second time in the day she yelped in surprise. Why was she so tense?

-"Ange..."-

-"No buts, either you let me take you home or I'm dragging your workaholic ass out of here"- She said in a sweet yet firm voice. Her friend was going through a very rough time; collapse under the excess of work would be the last thing Bren needed.

Brennan could spend hours explaining why she had to stay but no matter what she Angela would get her way, she always did, so instead of wasting her breath she took her bag and headed for the door. As she came out of her office she found a young man waiting for her.

-"Hello Dr. Brennan, I'm agent Brown from the FBI; I was assigned to Swanson's case."-

He was in his early twenties but he looked fifteen. Instead of giving him notoriety the black suit he wore made him look like a child in disguise, he wasn't very tall he had blond hair, blue eyes and the face of a cherub. He was the kind of person you would rather see leading a pop boy band than working as an officer of the law.

Seeing that sweet little face Angela couldn't help herself

-"Aww you're sooo cute! I swear I if I could put some plastic wings behind you I'll hang you in my Christmas tree"-

The poor agent just shook his head; he had grown accustomed to that kind of comments

-"I'm sorry I bothered you at this late hour, I was told I might find you here. I have been asking questions to some of the victim's accountancies but I'm afraid I couldn't get anything solid, most of them refuse to give any information"-

-"What about the family?-

-"She doesn't have one; she's been in the foster care system since she was ten"-

-"So what do we do now?"-

-"Usually we would send someone undercover, but I already presented myself as an FBI and the bureau won't send another agent on the case because, in their words, would be a waste of time"-

-"I could do that; I've done work as an undercover before"-

-"I have no doubt on your skills Dr. Brennan, but you are a public character, I saw you on TV two years ago. People will know who you are"-

-"I can help you with that"- Angela said behind them. –"I'll give you a makeover sweetie, by the time I'm done with you not even Booth will recognize you"-


	2. Chapter 2

Rockstar 2

Camille entered in Sweet's office early in the morning, every time she saw that young man with that smug expression on his face chills ran down her spine, her initial distrust towards that kid was now becoming anger and apprehension, she hated the fact that he was becoming every day more involved with the investigations and the lab in general.

Her instinct told her that eventually he would gather enough information and mess with enough heads to get everyone in the Jeffersonian on its knees. Nonetheless she needed him, Cassandra was not only a person who grew up on the foster system, she had also been abused and molested as a child, her records showed that she had been hospitalized four times as a result of domestic violence and according to Brennan's report she had been beaten several more times, many old fractures were never treated. The last time a foster child was involved on a case Brennan had taken it personally, not to mention that her partner and best friend simply forgot about her and treated her as a complete stranger, she needed Sweets to determine if she could work on the case without letting her emotions jeopardize it.

-"I'll go talk to her right now, she does have an incredible ability to compartmentalize, still it's understandable if she identifies herself with the victim but I must tell you that I don't think Dr Brennan was abused in her childhood, previous psychological examinations would have shown it"-

-"True, I've dealed with victims of abuse before, she doesn't strike me as one but with her… you never know"-

……………………………………………………………………..

One of the few leads the victim gave was a presentation card of Doomsday by midnight's agent, James Keane found in her pocket. Agent Brown was in the questioning room sitting in front of him. Keane was an overweight man in his mid forties, his nose and cheeks were reddish, showing signs of cronical alcoholism, he fidgeted in his seat and looked hyperactive. At first Brown thought he was nervous and probably hiding something but as he observed his demeanor and the compulsive way he pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled loudly all the time he realized he was high, probably on cocaine.

-"Did you give your card to Miss Swanson?"-

-"Yup, I offered her band a deal, a good one; I'll give her twice the percentage of the total earnings and bigger places for them to play"-

-"Sound great, did she take it?"-

-"No she said she wasn't interested"-

-"That's strange, you gave her a generous offer and she just refused, it must have been frustrating"-

-"It was, but I'm not stupid. You FBI pigs think there was foul play, otherwise you wouldn't be asking all this questions, and I'm probably one of your suspects am I right?"-

-"At this moment I'm only asking questions, but if you could tell me were you were last night at about eleven it would clarify some things"-

-"I was in the tour bus picking groupies that would spend the night with Wayne and the rest of the band, and yes aside from those bleach headed bimbos no one else was there to verify my alibi"-

-"Wayne Connor, the leader of your band? Looks like you wanted to be alone with those girls"-

-"You now how it is, those groupies screw their way up, first they sleep with the bouncers, then the assistants, then the managers and eventually if they do a good "job" they'll have the privilege of fucking a rockstar"-

-"What about Cassandra? Was she interested in Wayne?"-

-"Hell no, she was supposed to be his replacement"-

-"What do you mean?"-

-"Last night my band played an hour late cause we couldn't find Wayne, so her band, Avatar had to play a lot more than scheduled and she was awesome!, the crowd went crazy, she rocked the entire stadium, I've never seen such strength an charisma on a singer before. By the time we found Wayne in a huge tub with ten hookers in the presidential room of the Hilton Hotel and brought his ass to the stage the people was heated, and instead of doing the performance his fans expected and paid for, that son of a bitch was so wasted he forgot the lyrics of his own songs! He was booed out of the stage"-

-"And that's when you spoke to Cassandra"-

-"Yes, the tickets to my band's concerts were sold out a month ago so we added two more days. Doomsday by midnight will play today and tomorrow on the same stadium, after that I'm firing those assholes I've had enough of them."-

-"And you planned to represent Avatar instead, but Swanson said no"-

-"That's her manager's fault, Artie; he had the entire band hooked. He picks you up when you're broke and makes you sign a contract for five or more years in where it says you have to give him twenty percent of the band's earnings, even if you choose to work for someone else you're forced to pay it unless he breaks the contract, which he never does, but at least I tried."-

-"Does your band know you were planning to fire them and hire Avatar?"-

-"Yeah I told them after they left the stage; you should have seen Wayne's face! He had a tantrum."-

"_According to the forensic report Cassandra died shortly after Keane's band left the stage_" Brown thought.

-"Do you know were he went afterwards?"-

-"I haven't seen him ever since"-

Agent Brown didn't like the idea of letting Keane go, he was obviously a violent, impulsive man. During the entire interview he had grown confrontational and he seemed as if he were ready to jump at him in any second. Aside from that he was probably hiding something; luckily he could keep him in custody for twenty four hours without pressing charges.

-"Mister Keane I'm afraid I'll have to keep you in custody until your alibi checks out, do you remember any of those girls names?"-

Upon hearing this Keane laughed like a maniac

-"Remember their names… I BARELY REMEMBER HOW THEIR TITS LOOKED LIKE!! And that's all I cared to see about them, listen you little ninny I have a life and the last thing I need is to spend my day in jail because a kid like you is so stupid he can't find the person who did this!"-

-"Put your hands behind your back"- Brown said coldly

As Brown approached Keane punched him hard on the face sending him to the floor, he was twice the agent's size so he though that if he was sent to jail he might at least beat that young rookie until that baby face was stained with tears. He tried to kick the agent in his midsection while he was still down but as soon as his foot came near the boy he grabbed his ankle and bent it painfully, as Keane screamed he pushed his foot upwards causing him to loose his balance and fall, by the time he hit the ground Brown was behind him grabbing his left arm and twisting so hard he thought it might break.

-"You have the right to keep silence, everything you say can be used against you in court..."- He couldn't continue because Keane head butted him hard in a whiplash motion making the agent's nose bleed, several more agents rushed by to his help, it took four agents and a large dose of tranquilizer to manhandle him.

………………………………………………………………………………………….

Sweets entered in Brennan's office and found her pinned in her couch by Angela who had lended her a pair of jeans and a grey tight t shirt, he caught them in the middle of Brennan's makeover as Angela was now applying a large amount of make up on her friend's face. Usually a psychological interview would be done in privacy, but when it came to sharing emotional traumas he knew Brennan wouldn't cooperate, yet Angela had always known how to handle her. He hoped that maybe her friend's presence would provide enough support for her to open up.

-"Dr. Brennan before you go on this mission I have some questions for you"-

-"About what?"-

-"Your experiences in the foster system"-

-"Why?"- She said turning her head from Angela's grasp

-"I need to evaluate the parallelisms between your experience and the victims"-

-"Why would that be of any use in the case?"-

-"He wants to know if you would get too involved sweetie"- Angela interrupted nonchalant

-"I'm capable of handling this, that's all you need to know"- She told Sweets in a cutting none-of-your-business tone.

-"That bad huh?"- Angela told her in her usual soft voice; Brennan could see the sympathy pouring out of her deep dark eyes.

Brennan rolled her eyes, her time in the foster system was one of the worst moments in her life, but if Angela thought that her experiences were as bad as Cassandra's she would never get her supportive friend of her back, so she told the truth in a simple concise way.

-" To be honest those homes weren't that bad at least compared to the victim's. I wasn't molested or abused in any way, most of the time no one even noticed me or cared enough to even know my name, sometimes by the time they knew who I was I had already moved to another place. Eventually I found myself in the care of an elderly couple, there were nice to me and by the time I turned sixteen they adopted me and became my grandparents."-

Brown entered in the office and found it crowded, he wanted to give Brennan a report of his last findings. His nose was swollen and a bruise was forming in the side of his head.

-"You poor thing what happened?"- Angela said in shock

-"One of our suspects got violent"-

-"So we have suspects. That's great"-Brennan said interested.

-"Two to be exact, James Keane, a crazy manager Swanson turned down and Wayne Connor the singer of the main band, he was loosing his fame while the victim was gaining it, had she been alive her band would had ended up replacing his"-

-"Sounds promising"- Cam said appearing from behind.-"Now all we have to do is compare the evidence with one of them"-

-"Does any of them have red hair with black roots?"- Said Hodgins entering the office as well.-"I found it on the vic's watch they were stained with microscopical drops of blood with too different DNA profiles, one matches the victim, the other came back unknown but does match the DNA from the hair follicles. And get this there are particles of chrome, steel and copper on the head wound along whit small splinters of a rare wood used mostly on Scandinavian high class furniture"-

-"That would explain the weird angle, she hit the furniture when she fell, and not the ground, but I didn't see any furniture of that type on the crime scene photos"- Angela said.

-"Which means it was removed after the crime"- Brennan said pleased.

-"And proves beyond doubt that it wasn't just an OD"- Cam concluded

-"Yeah, but Keane is bald and Wayne's hair is…"- Brown said looking at the file –"Black with green hair lights"-

-"We shouldn't jump to conclusions, maybe they had nothing to do with it"- Brennan muttered as Angela begun to apply lipstick on her full lips.

Sweets tried to get out of the crowded office but in the process knocked a vessel from the desk sending it to the floor where it tore in small pieces.

-"Sorry"- He said sheepishly

-"It's okay I can always go to Egypt and buy another"- Brennan said already in a bad mood. The entire team was in her private office, tons of make up were plastered on her face while Perotta was probably all over Booth, she had taken vacations just to be with him all the time and in a few hours she would have to pass for a rock singer of a band she knew nothing about. This would be a very long day.

Twenty minutes later Brown was in the platform being nursed by Cam, she told him his nose wasn't broken and ice would be enough to low the swelling, while he sat on a chair she stood in front of him, as she checked the rest of his wounds he got a good look of her chest behind her silk shirt. Sometimes looking like a non threatening kid had its advantages. The rest of the team was waiting for Brennan and Angela to get out from the office.

The woman that stepped into the platform was completely unrecognizable. Brennan's auburn hair was gone, replaced by a platinum wig with long bangs that ended below her chin falling over her face while in the back of the head the hair ended at the beginning of her neck. Her lips were of a blood red but they couldn't steal the attention of the heavily make up eyes, they didn't looked too charged, what the layers of eyeliner achieved was to make them look almost cat like, the thing that made her look so different was the dark contact lenses that now covered her blue eyes, in the contrast with the light skin and hair they were piercing to a disturbing degree.

-"Hi"- She said in a voice that wasn't her own.-"My name is Serena Grey"-


	3. Chapter 3

Rockstar 3

Angela had changed her appearance too: she wore a black suit, thick rectangular glasses and her dark hair was tied tightly in a bun. Her stance and behavior changed, now she looked serious and authoritarian.

Are you sure you want to do this? Brennan asked Angela as they drove to the stadium filled with concern.

-" Sweetie you need me. You have no idea of how this business is like but I grew up in it, if you go there on your own they'll eat you alive. Besides, all rock stars need agents"- she winked.

-"That doesn't make any sense Ange, no business can be ran by a bunch of cannibals"-

Angela smiled mysteriously –"Oh you have no idea"-

-"How am I supposed to act?, I'm a good actress but I usually base the character in movies and I didn't see any about hard rock"-

-"You have to be impulsive, loud and arrogant. In order to blend in you have to try to call attention all the time, most musicians I met had biiiig… _egos_"-

-"I see"- Brennan said worried.

-"Look, pretend you are a kid and that there are no consequences for any of your actions, no matter how crazy or wrong they are"-

-"That's impossible, for every action there is an equal reaction"-

-"Not in the music world"- Angela said dryly.

They approached the stadium and went to Avatar's tour bus. Beside it they found a group of four men arguing loudly with a woman. Three of them were between their late twenties and early thirties but they dressed like teenagers, one of them had a huge blue Mohawk with tattoos on the sides of his head the man beside him was an African American with short black hair and about ten piercings displayed across his face, another one sat in the stairs at the entrance of the bus, he was emaciated and he looked very sick, raven hair fell on his face but even in the distance you could see the emptiness and disconnection of reality. Brennan guessed that if he didn't get medical attention soon he would die in less than a year.

The only man in the group that looked like an actual adult seemed to be the manager, he was the one who fought directly with her, he was in his early forties, he had gray hair and seemed to be in good shape, his eyes were of an ice blue and his face was masculine, he was altogether an attractive man.

The woman was the one who screamed the most, she was a voluptuous yet muscular Latina with caramel skin, almond eyes and full lips.

-"Angela look, I mean _Sarah_, she has red hair with black roots! We need to get a sample"- Brennan said pointing at her.

-"Leave it all to me"- Angela responded in her now cold voice.

-"Hello my name is Sarah Guzman, I represent Serena Grey"- She said pointing towards Brennan. –"She's a very talented singer and"-

-"Shut up you bitch! The job is mine"- The loud woman responded

-"And you are"- Angela said lifting and eyebrow and looking at her with scorn.

-"Alejandra Venegas, I was the previous singer of the band, hell I created it, until the manager I HIRED to help us decided to trade me for that blonde looser."-

Brennan couldn't help smiling to herself, Venegas not only matched the description of the evidence she also had a motive. If the hair and DNA samples matched she could go home and leave this nut house. The problem was that in order to get a sample they needed a warrant, she couldn't just take samples of her hair and blood unless…

"you have to be impulsive" Angela told her.

-"Listen you crazy bitch"- The guy in the Mohawk told Venegas –"We fired you because you were a fucking mess, one thing is to act like a megalomaniac on stage but once you get out from it you have to drop that attitude"-

-"You're just saying that because I beated the crap out of you and you didn't have the balls to fight back"-

-"I only have one ball because of you! You didn't fight fair you just kicked me in the nuts but I'm done with being such a gentleman I'm kicking your ass right now"-

-"Look perra"- Serena said stepping out from the darkness –"They obviously don't want you here, no one does so drop the second class diva attitude and go away!"-

-"Shut the fuck up or I'll turn that pretty face into a pulp"-

-"You are all talk but when it comes to fight you are just a coward"- Serena responded with an arrogant smile.

Venegas pounced at Serena like a hungry tiger, her nails tried to reach Gray's face but she turned at the last moment, usually Brennan would had kicked her in the midsection while she was under but instead she tried to pull a few strands of hair, the problem was that adrenaline was now flowing on her system and made her stronger that she thought. Instead of a few strands she ended up with an handful of hair and pieces of her scalp. She gasped in horror as blood poured from Venega's head.

-"I'm sorry I wasn't supposed to yank that hard, let me look at it I might help"- Brennan said with sympathy

Fear filled eyes saw Serena as Alejandra held one hand in the site of the wound, she paled and ran as fast as her long legs could.

Brennan tried to run after her but Sarah grabbed her arm and said–"She'll be fine"- for some reason her cold tone was almost hypnotic, so instead she took a plastic bag from her denim jacket and placed the evidence there.

-"Taking a souvenir?"- the guy in the Mohawk told her as he shook her hand–"Jim Jonas at your service, I'm the drummer this is Jack Keys he plays the bass"- He said pointing at the piercing filled guy beside him –"And the boy that is sitting over there so high he has no idea of what the hell is going on is Fred Williams, he plays the guitar"-

Artie stepped in front of them with a determined look on his face:

-"Listen girls, I appreciate your offer but we're leaving, auditions to replace Cassandra will be held in New York, feel free to go there if you want"-

-"No way, this gig was our big brake, I liked Cassie, we all did but if we go now we loose our chance and you know it. Besides, I like her"- Jim purred staring at Serena.

-"Face it"- Sarah said with dry arrogance –"either you hire her so she can blow your mind or you crawl back to were you came from, by the end of the month your little place on the spotlight will be over and you'll end up playing in joints for the rest of your life"-

-"C'mon man, give the girl a break. She's got the looks and the attitude if she can sing decently we'll do just fine. Once this concert is over we'll keep her or we'll hire someone else, but at least we'll do it in our own time."- Jack told him.

-"Fine, rehearsals are in an hour you better raise to the circumstances, don't you dare wasting my time"-

……………………………………………………………….

Hodgins was analyzing the evidence Brennan took him, she was behind him tapping her foot. She knew the DNA results wouldn't be ready but if the hairs matched maybe she wouldn't have to go back to the stadium. Then maybe she would be able to make more progress with the Viking warrior, at least Clark Edison was taking care of it since the rest of the squints were too busy with Swanson's case.

-"I'll like to have a word with you"- Camille told Brennan appearing from behind, this time the poor doctor yelped in surprise, Cam hid the smile that begun to creep on her lips, this was getting fun.

-"What is it?"-

-"How did you get the evidence? I don't see a warrant"-

-"It was in my nails and hand, you only need a warrant if the samples are in the suspect if they are thrown away or fall in by example, me, you can just take it"-

-"And how did it get there?"-

-"She attacked me and I defended myself"-

-"I see, a good lawyer could say it was entrapment and the evidence could easily be banned from court, but if we get a match it might be enough to get a warrant and do things properly"- As she walked away from the platform she turned and grinned mischievously –"Oh and miss Gray, good job I didn't know you had it in you"-

-"Hairs match"- Hodgins said triumphal.

-"Good news people I've got a another suspect, a woman called Alejandra Venegas was seen fighting with the victim one hour before she got on stage"- Brown said with a big smile as he stepped in the platform, to his surprise instead of looking pleased all the squints groaned at once.

-"What?"-

-"You just gave a reasonable explanation of how Venega's hair ended up on the victims watch, she had a fight with her two hours _before_ she got killed"- Cam told him.

-"O-kay, but that doesn't necessarily rule her out, I could still take her to the bureau for questioning"-

-"In that case I suggest you hurry up, it appears that miss Gray scared the hell out of her"-

-"You know what that means sweetie"- In a matter of seconds Angela's kind voice was transformed in Sarah's cold demeanor –"I hope you learned the songs, in a few minutes you have to convince Artie to hire you"-

Brennan stepped in full character as well, probably just to tease her –"Of course I did, you're such a pain in the ass, by the time I get to the big leagues I'm firing ya"-

-"Oh really? Now you're gonna get it"- Angela giggled as she tickled Brennan on her ribs, they fooled around like kids the entire way to the car.

………………………………………………………………………..

Serena finished her song in the empty stage with a concern so big it was turning into nausea, she did good or at least that's what she thought. She didn't missed a beat and tuned each note perfectly. Why then, did everyone around her saw her with such indifference?

-"You did fine, obviously you have a classical background. It's not what we're looking for but you'll play with us, at least until we go to New York. When we leave you'll stay"- Artie told her seriously.

Brennan had achieved her goal, she needed to have access to the stadium and gather enough information to find the killer, she had no intention to follow the band to New York. But Serena just had to ask.

-"What did I do wrong?"-

-"Rock is made of two basic components, melody and distortion. The melodic part you did great, but hard rock is about displaying emotions (usually angry ones) it's not about sounding good it's about making a statement. There is more that singing there's also a lot of raw screaming"- Jim explained kindly

-"I don't know what that means"-

-"You don't now it you feel it. Loosen up a little, have fun with the music. I bet that when you play in front of a live audience you'll totally get it"-

-"You really think I will?"-

-"Either that or you'll freeze in the middle of the stage and angry people will start booing while they throw things at you"-


	4. Chapter 4

Rockstar 4

Brennan had no idea of how to yell in the middle of a song but it didn't matter, now she had the chance to ask questions about drugs, whoever murdered Cassandra had access to them.

-"Sooo guys does anyone know where can I find some drugs? You know just to take the edge off, I'm kinda nervous"- she said coyly

It was strange that someone asked so directly, usually they asked for their street names or used metaphors but Jack responded.

-"What are you into?"-

-"Heroine"-

-"Here"- He handed her a small plastic bag with crystals on it.

-"Don't use that shit, that cheap ass only buys low quality stuff. Here take some of mine"- Jim threw her another small bag.

Artie stood up in the middle of them with an angry look on his face

-"What the hell is wrong with you? You can't just start throwing heroine like it was a piece of candy. Serena if you put any of that in your veins you're fired."-

-"I'm sorry I didn't know what I was thinking"- She said lowering her head.

-"Damn right you didn't, you can't use opiates before a concert, you'll be too high and weak to move. What you really need to take the edge off is coke, it will give you the boost you need to loosen up. God knows you need that"- He handed her a small silver box, it looked like a fancy lighter but it's contents were obvious. –"Don't get too crazy, that shit is pure, if you want more just call Diego, I'll give the number to your agent"-

-"Okay"- She said shyly "_So everyone in the band had access to drugs_" if she wasn't so innocent she wouldn't had been surprised.

-"I don't think coke will be enough, she was so stiff I could swear she had a wooden stick up her ass"- A guy from above them said, he was the one in charge of fixing the lights. He dropped some pills that fell directly over her. –"That's meth gorgeous, if that doesn't work for you nothing will"-

"_So he has __access too" _She thought.

-"You think some E might help? I've got good stuff"- A voice spoke through the speakers. A moment later the assistant gave her some more pills.

"_Also the show director"_ She added

-"Nah, what she needs is some diazepam. It's mellow she'll be able to concentrate on the lyrics, we don't want her to get like Wayne remember?"- A woman spoke from behind the curtains and gave her some other pills.

"_And the make up artist as well"_ –"Is there anyone who's not into drugs?"- She almost yelled, frustrated.

There was a tense silence in the room. It wasn't because her comment shocked them, they actually had a hard time trying to remember someone who was never high.

-"Cassie"- Fred said, finally joining the conversation –"She never had drugs, she said she knew first handed of what they did to a person, she swore she would never end up like the people she grew up with"- His voice expressed such raw pain and despair, you didn't have to be Angela to realize he cared for the victim.

-"You're right, she was clean. Oh and Wayne's band, they don't use them cause they don't wanna be like him. But of course they're wasted anyway cause they drink like fucking animals."- Jim commented.

For a moment she forgot she was carrying a massive amount of illegal narcotics in her arms_. "What am I supposed to do with these?"_ She panicked, but maybe Hodgins could find a match with the exact type of Heroine that was used on the victim.

Angela stepped into the stage with two coffee mugs, and found her friend scared and wide eyed holding what seemed to be a junkie's wet dream.

-"I brought you something to wake you up but it seems you're way ahead of me"- She said lifting an eyebrow

-"I gotta take these… home"- She said meaningfully, implying she had to take them to the Jeffersonian. In a split second she ran towards her car some pills falling from her sides, Sarah hot on her heels.

Jack regarded that image with fondness.-"Look at her running around! She's like a kid on Christmas morning"-

-"Rookies are so cute, you could almost swear she never saw so much candy in her life"- Jim retorted.

Brennan was so focused on getting to her car that she didn't see two police officers that were in charge of the concert's peripherical security ahead of her, before she realized she had already bumped into them. They saw her, and the stuff cradled in her arms.

Agitated, she tried to explain:-"Hello officers, I know what you're thinking but it's not what it seems I work with the FBI and right now I'm undercover I tried to get some clues to solve a case but I ended up with all this illegal narcotics and now I have to take this to the Jeffersonian so my associates can compare the samples"- She said so fast it was hard to process any of her words.

-"Riiight, so you're saying you're carrying enough dope to be convicted of transport and distribution because…"- One of the officers told her as her friend stood behind her paralyzed.

-"They're evidence of a murder case, they need to be transported to the lab so they can be processed"-

-"Oh in that case move on"- He said sarcastically while his partner snickered –"Or better yet. Why don't you give US the evidence so we can take it safely to the Jefferson's"-

-"Jeffersonian"-

-"Yeah that, we'll make sure they are_… processed_ properly"- his partner said smugly.

-"Excellent idea officers, now if you excuse us we need to practice for a concert"- Sarah said nervously, grabbing Serena by the arm.-"Let's go"-

With an evil smile the two officers waved at the girls as they ran as far from them as they could.

-"I know the music industry is filled with dope, but I think we should have taken them downtown. Even if to just stop that girl from getting overdosed. You know, get her some help."-

-"She was too hot to sleep in a plastic bag, but you now how it is. She'll be lucky if she doesn't end up as a crack whore"-

-"C'est la vie man. Geez do you have an idea of the street value of this shit?-

-"Yeah, seems like I'll get my plasma after all"-

As Brennan and her best friend stepped into the car they sighed in relief

-"That went well, those officers will take the evidence to the Jeffersonian, that will give me time to ask questions. I'm not good with people but I think Fred knew the victim better than the other members, he seemed affected by her death"-

-"I wouldn't count on that sweetie. Those samples are likely to get lost in the way"-

-"But why? They said…"-

-"I know but it's okay, I've just received a text message from Artie he gave me the cell of Diego, he's the official dealer of the concert"-

-"There is an official dealer?"-

-"Many of the musicians and staff are hooked, if you don't guarantee them drugs they could actually have a severe abstinence syndrome. With so many users in one place there is bound to be traffic, and several drug bosses would fight over such a territory, by assigning one dealer who represents a powerful cartel things can get somewhat controlled"-

-"Makes sense"- Brennan said pensively.

-"Anyway I'll give the number to agent Brown, he might find something"-

-"Oh I forgot!" Brennan said as she pulled two bags from her pockets –"We should get these to the lab, I put them in my pocket before everyone started throwing narcotics at me"-

-"Why did they do that?-

-"To loosen me up, whatever that means. Apparently singing is not enough I have yell as well. I almost don't get the job, but I did it and that's what matters"-

-"I'll take the evidence to the lab you go practice and talk to Fred, he might open up to you"-

-"I don't know, I'm not good counseling people"-

-"If he cared about Cassandra he probably needs a sympathetic ear and a shoulder to lie on, just be by his side and he'll open up to you"-

It was nice for Brennan to listen to her real friend instead of the icy alter ego she created, Angela was a great actress, too good actually, for every time she played Sara she irradiated a calculative hardness that chilled Brennan to the core, as both of them went in and out of their characters the parallelisms of Jekyll and hide became increasingly familiar.

……………………………………………………………………………………

Agent Brown entered the platform of the lab, were he was told there was new evidence concerning the case. Hodgins told him that the heroine that Jack and Jim had didn't match the one found on the victim, which was a very pure and rare type produced only in Pakistan, but traces on the plastic bag indicated they all came from the same source, probably the dealer called Diego.

Brown called Diego pretending to be a client and set up a meeting for that same afternoon.

To his surprise it wasn't in a dark alley on some forgotten street but in a crowded mall. Diego himself didn't look like a typical gangster, he didn't look Latin, he was in fact a tall dark haired Caucasian who seemed to come out of the military. He was well groomed and wore casual yet expensive clothing. Brown decided to give his childish face a good use so he dressed like an average teenager.

They approached to each other, sat on a bench and talked amiably pretending to be friends

-"So kid, what are you looking for?"-

-"Heroine, the purest stuff you got"-

-"I've got some china white, it's good"-

-"I'm looking something from Pakistan"-

-"Wow wait, you mean diamond dust? No way"-

-"Why not?"-

-"That thing comes to America after special and by that I mean expensive request"-

-"I've got money"-

-"If you had enough to pay for that you would live on a mansion and you'll send a personal assistant to get some, you wouldn't come yourself. How the hell did you know about it? That kind of heroine it's a well kept secret"-

-"A friend of mine had it, Cassandra Swanson."-

-"That's impossible, I've heard about her and she was clean as a whistle"-

-"She did die of OD"-

-"Wait a minute…" He said observing the young agent head to toe –"You're a cop!"-

In the corner of the eye he saw four men approaching him, they had blended into the crowd so perfectly Brown didn't have a chance to see them, Apparently Diego wasn't so stupid, he brought several friends with him and if he didn't do anything fast he would be a dead man.

Discreetly he showed Diego his badge while looking for an exit were he could run and disappear from sight.

-"I'm an FBI, this place is surrounded by agents, some of them are snipers, one move and you're dead."- He bluffed.

Luckily Diego bought it so he sprang, running with an agility an athlete would envy, Brown chased after him, several pedestrians were tossed out of the way during the chase, as Diego saw the crowded electric ladder he tried to descend running over the railing like a parkour enthusiast but in the middle of the way he tripped and fell in a fountain near by. It took almost a minute for brown to get the confused civilians out of the way and reach the place were he fell. When he got there he saw the dealer lying motionless in the shallow fountain, the water around him turned pink because of the blood and his right leg was in an unnatural position. He checked his pulse, strong and steady, saw around him and noticed that Diego's friends were gone.

Brown noticed that the dealer was semi conscious, he knew that retrieving information with aggressive interrogation techniques from a disoriented suspect was unethical, it was also stupid since he was surrounded by tons of horrified witnesses, but time seemed to be running out. As the ambulance sirens were heard so was the name of the only person who bought that type of heroine: Dave Fallings, main sponsor of the concert and also head of a not so modest record label.

………………………………………………………………………

-"HOW CAN YOU BE SUCH AN IDIOT?"-

Angela's screams were heard over the entire platform of the lab Cam and Hodgins approached her office

-"What was all that about?- cam asked annoyed, she hated to see Angela in her costume, part of her believed the entire alter ego was just a parody of herself.

-"That jerk Brown, he just arrested the dealer"-

-"So?"- Hodgins asked impatiently

Cam paled for a second and explained

-" Brennan and Angela appear right in the middle of a murder investigation and three hours after Artie gives them the number of a drug dealer he ends up in jail by the FBI"-

-"You think their cover is blown"- Hodgins said worried

-"Maybe not for the band but the cartel probably put the pieces together"- Cam said while she contacted security so they could guard Angela.

-"Bren is till out there by herself!"- Angela panicked.


	5. Chapter 5

Rockstar 5

Angela tried to run looking for Brennan but Cam stopped her

-"What are you doing? We have to help Bren"-

-"The cartel probably knows you are involved already, if you go there they'll try to kill you as well"-

-"Cam is right Angela, we'll go" Hodgins said, concern painted across his face.

-"No, I'll go. I'm the FBI agent remember?"- Brown told him already heading towards the exit

-"Yeah you're the one that screwed up, while I'm the one who owns a Lamborghini that could take you there in less than five minutes"-

…………………………………………………

Back in the stadium Serena was getting ready for her performance, she made a diva like tantrum in order to use Cassandra's private changing room, soon she would have to sing in front of a thousand persons and her voice was raw from all the loud insults she had to give to helpless assistants.

Brennan couldn't help thinking of how bad this investigation was going, there were many suspects, lots of people with the means to kill her and little attention from the authorities, this place should had been labeled as a crime scene but since the victim's death was still considered a suicide the room was left forgotten for anyone to come back and tamper all the evidence they wanted, still she searched the room for any clue or at least the furniture that caused the lesions on the victim. She was about to give up, she was getting late already, when she stumbled with a small wooden bench, the design was modern and simple, consistent with Scandinavian stile. She took some fenoftalein from her bag and smeared it with a cotton bud, the lateral side of the bench tested positive for blood. Before she could rejoice on her finding a strong set of arms circled her throat and strangled her.

…………………………………………………………..

Hodgins insisted on driving, he told them he knew a shortcut and would make it there in minutes but he didn't told him he would drive trough a park to get there.

Luckily autumn was giving way to winter, so in that particular afternoon the cold wind made sure the park was almost empty. Yet some unfortunate pedestrians that strolled there ran for their lives as a large sport car went through the bushes and turned in a narrow curb at incredible velocity, destroying the neatly cut grass.

-"What the hell is wrong with you?"- Brown yelled as he grabbed the sides of his seat for his life and prayed to every saint and deity that crossed his mind.

-"I… kinda did this before"- Hodgins replied reluctantly, a hint of dark embarrassment in his voice.

-"Huh?"- Was all Brown managed to say since he was hyperventilating

-"I got wasted a few nights ago; a buddy of mine gave me tickets for a blues concert. I was running very late, and the hot supermodel I was dating _really_ wanted to get there in time and well… traffic was a mess. Just like now, I mean its rush hour and…"-

-"You were drunk"-

-"Yup"-

-"What's you excuse now?"-

-"I don't need one, we made it"- Hodgins said triumphal as he made a fast and narrow u turn that left them right in front of the entrance tires sceetched and left their marks on the pavement, the perfectly efficient and fast breaks are the only thing that stopped the car from crashing against the gate.

Brown showed his badge to the security guard in the main gate, but he didn't let him in because he though Brown was just a teenager with a fake badge trying to get backstage, apparently several kids had tried that trick before, posing as FBI, cops and even DEA agents.

-"its fine Jimmy he's with me, I'm looking for Serena Grey you know were can I find her?"-

-"She's probably still in her dressing room, go straight ahead and turn left at the end of the hallway. Hot chick, you're tapping that ass too? Damn you're lucky."-

-"Yeah"- Hodgins chuckled –"See ya later buddy"- He waved the bouncer and ran as fast as he could, Brown close behind.

-"What was that all about?"- Brown asked puzzled.

-"I'm no stranger to backstage passes I've dated singers, models, groupies you name it. He thought Serena was just one of my many accountancies."- He was embarrassed by the way his life had gone stray, a different woman on his bed every night, most of them gold diggers, and lots of alcohol to go along with it. "When it goes bad… it will go really bad" Angela told him when they started dating and boy she was right.

They heard trashing sounds coming from the dressing room and made it to the door just in time to see Brennan suspended in the air while a very large man behind her that had his hands circling her throat, with the back of her heel she kicked him hard on his right knee cap. In the second he lost balance and loosen the grip on her neck she elbowed him hard on the ribs, as she landed on the floor she threw him a flying kick on his face, breaking his nose. The attacker recovered quickly and threw a punch in her direction, in that moment both Hodgins and Brown ran towards the guy trying to tackle him but he was too strong, all they could do was making him sway a little. Brown got out of the way fast, trying to find the best angle to shoot him, so while he was reaching for his gun the perp headed towards Hodgins. All the entomologist could see was a giant mountain of muscles and anger ready to turn him into mosh, he didn't see Brennan behind him until he hard the sound of an acoustic guitar hitting the guy's head and in a matter of seconds the attacker was on the floor.

Brown was putting handcuffs on the unconscious suspect when Angela bursted in the room, Cam hadn't been able to hold her back so instead she followed her

-"Is everyone alright? Sweetie are you okay?"-

-"I think we're good"- she said while trying to help Hodgins on his feet.

-"Jack what happened?"- Angela rushed to him, forgetting for a moment they had broken up.

-"I'm fine, that guy almost had me but Dr Brennan pulled a hill graw mc claw on him"-

For one single minute, they managed to forget about the break up, they looked at each other and sparks flew from their eyes, their chemistry was so intense even Brennan saw it. "Love exists" Brennan thought, she had always believed only in the things she could see but now the love between her best friend and Hodgins was expressing itself tangible right in front of her. She was happy for Angela at least one of them would get a happy ending.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter six

She thought about Booth at that moment, and the horrible days she spent by his side when he was in a coma. The only thing she wanted back then was to see him awake, smiling at her and calling her "Bones" as he had done so many times in the past; instead he saw her as a compleate stranger and even when they became friends during his recovery in witch she rarely left his side, he no longer saw her the way he used to. The sparkle in his eyes belonged now to Perotta and it occurred to her that the fact that love between two people existed didn't mean everyone could have it, most ordinary humans would have to settle with a relationship between matching personalities and common goals, just like her.

Before she could break down in tears artie came out of nowhere yelling something about being late, he grabbed her by the arm, dragged her across the hallway and threw her into the stage. A huge crowd cheered and the band was playing the intro already, she was lost, thinking of Booth had left a huge lump in her throat and the tears were almost falling now, that's when Jim told her:-"You can do it baby, whatever is inside you let it out"-

And that's when she screamed. She wasn't thinking anymore, she just cried her anger and frustration. Instead of stopping the instruments kept playing in crescendo as if responding to her anger and joining it. She felt energy surrounding her like a live wire, the crowd heard the pain in her screams and responded with louder cheering and then the lyrics rushed into her brain and she sang, no longer caring about the notes but simply singing a message that was written by Cassandra herself a few years ago in a homeless shelter.

Fragile, life is so fragile

And if it were that precious

Why is it taken away?

Two shots, rang in an alley

They fell to the floor

What else can I say?

Nobody could tell what happened

No one knew who did it

Or even saw how it went

But I see it… in my nightmares

And I wish I've known

What happened to the life wasted and spent

Of the guys who shot them

The ones who took their life

I wish I could reach them

And take them to the tunnel of light

Or the flames of hell

When it was time to sing the chorus the energy on the stage rose to a level she had never expected, Cassandra wrote the song thinking about her parent's homicide and the idea that she never lived to see justice for their crime only fuelled the fire burning in her voice. The funny thing was that the song itself was not that well written, and the melody was simple, but it didn't matter because the music was nothing more that a mean to give a message, a cry for help.

I cry their names in anger

But no one will answer

Cause they are not coming back

My heart is bleeding, cut open

My life is just broken

And nobody gives a crap

Hours passed and by the end of the concert Brennan believed she was living an epiphany, the static between the band and the large crowd was so intense she could taste it. She didn't actually see them, but it was easy to visualize lines of energy and sparkles around the stadium, a few moments ago she had seen love for herself and now she was proven that there was many more things in the universe than the ones explained in science. A great, powerful magic possessed the stage and she was in the middle of it, she could see why so many people dreamed about being rock stars.

By the end of the show everyone forgot about doomsday by midnight, no one noticed that Avatar had play two hours beyond their schedule until Wayne and the rest of his band stormed into the stage. She was about to go home an get some well deserved rest when she saw Fred crawling behind the stage with a needle on his hand, she followed him, maybe she could talk him out of it.

-"Long term drug abuse can cause several disorders, from premature myocardial necrosis to psychosis due to the destruction of the cerebral cortex. Given your current physical state there might be permanent damage to your system already"-

-"Huh?"- Was all the boy could say –"Shit this is good, I haven't even used it and I'm hearing things already"- he said pointing to the syringe in his hands

Brennan tried a different approach; Serena was a mean selfish bitch, so thinking like her wouldn't help. Angela on the other hand was really good with people, if she could pretend to be a spoiled dive she could pretend to be her best friend.

-"How are you holding up?"- She said softly

-"Fine, life is just peachy"- Fred said in the verge of tears

-"Cassandra seemed like a very special person, you obviously care deeply for her"-

-"the fuck do you care? You are trying to replace her"- he raised his voice

-"I identify with her in some aspects; I lived in the foster system as well"-

-"Really? Did your foster parents raped you every night and forced you to help them hurt other kids as well?"-

-"No, but they did lock me in the trunk of a car for two days and once they beated me up so hard I was in a coma for three days. Is that close enough?"- Bitterness claimed her voice, she sounded like Serena now.

He chuckled, a sound closer to despair than happiness. –"I guess, I had perfect family. Loving mom and dad, middle class heaven, no divorce, my dad never lost his job and now look at me. Gem of the fucking family."-

-"What happened?"-

-"I met Cassie in Julliard, she had a scholarship, we formed a band and decided that if we were dedicating our lives to music we should forget about college. We believed that the real music had to be learned by experience not boring classrooms. And we did it, but this environment… it just eats you alive, too much pressure. I started doing drugs, but only for recreation, like jack or Jim, still Cassie hated it so she said we should both quit, we made some money, enough to get a home and start a life together."- He started crying –"One moment we were packing our bags and the next she's dead!"-

Brennan had no idea of what to do so she did the same as booth when she needed comforting; she hugged the boy until he calmed down. The heroine filled syringe was left forgotten on the floor. Jim saw them and said he would take care of Fred. The drummer saw her with a kind fondness that reminded her of Booth, she had to be careful or Serena's reputation as an egocentric bitch would be in risk.

……………………………………………………………….

When the concert was over brennan took a long shower and crawled back to bed, she forgot to check her messages so she didn't know booth had tried to reach her several times. She usually met him every afternoon and hung out with him a couple of hours until pertta came back from work. When she didn't appeared that afternoon he convinced the pretty blond agent to check on the squints the next day. Her cell phone rang and when in the call ID she saw "Booth", she felt something break inside of her. She was too tired, tired of him who kept in enough distance to draw a line but at the same time calling her and trying to be a part of her life, crushing her emotional barriers only to build his own around himself. Tired of the ups and downs or their non-relationship. He didn't want to be with her but he didn't want to let her go, so she did what she should have done many years ago, she turned off her cell phone and when her house phone started ringing she allowed the answering machine to receive the call.

The next morning agent Perotta went to the jefersonian and found most of the squints, but not Brennan. Cam greeted her amiably and the blonde told her about Booth's concern.

-" is undercover on a case, she worked until late last night so she's taking the day off, and tonight she's going back in"-

-"I heard that you are dealing with a very complicated case, and the agent in charge of it is a rookie"-

-"True, it was supposed to be a suicide, that's why they called him but we'll manage"- Camille's voice was getting territorial

-"You know the cases I've been working on got a little cold; if you wanted I could help in the investigation."-

-"I appreciate your concern_ sweetie_"- Angela said coming from behind her, for the first time she pronounced that word with poison instead of affection. –"But we have it in control, thanks for asking though"- She finished with a cold, fake smile.

-"I see"- Perotta noticed the tension around her –"Still, Booth was worried about you guys so I though you might use a little help"-

-"If he is so worried tell him to come by himself"- Angela told her icily

-"We can manage, thank for dropping by. Now if you excuse us we have work to do"- Cam told her defiantly, the blonde agent was the reason Brennan was distancing herself from Booth and suffering for it. Believe it or not, Temperance was her friend and nobody messed with her friends and got away with it, luckily for her a fiery and creepy Angela was on her side.

-"There was blood near the bench were the victim hit her head, it belongs to her agent"- Hodgins said entering the platform.

-"Yeah and I checked the database, artie's real name is Abraham Stein, he was convicted in 2001 for assault"- That's what Angela was about to tell Cam before the loathing for perotta distracted her.

-"That's great guys, but as her agent he had complete access to the victim's dressing room all the time, I bet he has many explanations of how the blood got there. After all, isn't he using heroine? A few drops of blood could have fallen from the needle."-

Cam spoiled the cheerful mood

-"Yeah, I found heroine in the blood sample"- Hodgins said defeated

-"Still, we shouldn't rule him out." Brown said coming out of behind the platform, he arrived shortly after Perotta did. –"After all he is the only one with a motive, if she dumped him and changed agents he would have still gotten paid but if the victim simply quits the music business then he would get nothing and according to Brennan that's what the victim was about to do. I'll call artie for questioning"-


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter seven

"What about Venegas and Connor?"- Cam asked Brown

"They have a solid alibi, several members of the maintenance crew saw them having sex behind the curtains of the stage. both high as kites on the time Swanson was murdered"- the agent responded

"God I love rock!"- Hodgins said sarcastically

"What about the guy who ordered the diamond dust?"- cam said grinning to disguise her feeling of hopelessness

Brown smiled confidently

"Dave fallings? He served that drug on his private party, he has no motive to kill Swanson and several witnesses saw him at a strip club the night of the crime. His lawyer is sending me the guest list of that party, in fact I'm gonna talk to him right now"-

Fallings was a short man in his late fifties with feminine mannerisms; he had beady black eyes and a smile that reminded brown of the movie "jaws". His face belied his interest in several perversions and taste not only for females but males as well, the lascive way he saw brown's beautiful face and body made the rookie feel nauseous.

-"It is a shame what happened to Miss Swanson"- he said feigning sympathy –"I had big plans for her"-

-"You did?"- Brown's interest had perked and that sent erotic thrills to Fallings spine

-"Yes, I was going to hire the entire band and represent them myself"-

-"I heard that their current agent had a tight contract on them"-

-"Oh yes, but that was easily taken care of, I just offered to pay for him to break the contract, a hefty sum if I may add, almost a million bucks"-

-"When did you offered that?"-

-"In my party of course! They are the wildest in the entire country. You know I only invite the cream, but for a pretty face like yours I could make an exception"- he purred, almost drooling at the sight of the young man

-"Did he by any chance took the heroine you offered? Don't worry I wont press charges I'm only interested in Swanson's death"- brown did his best not to run away from that man, all he could do was fidget in his seat

-"oh you could lock me away and throw the key, and yes he did. Ugh he jumped at it like a tiger on a gazelle, he had no class whatsoever."-

-"Is it possible that you could give me some of that heroine so I could bag it and process it as evidence?"-

-"Oh of course, you could process all you want; my private office is a great place for processing _and_ bagging"-

……………………………………………………….

-"Samples match, king of the lab baby!"- Hodgins said triumphal as he entered cam's office

-"Great, I'll tell brown he didn't have to put up with that pervert for nothing"- Cam grumbled.

-"do you think it's enough for a conviction? Brown says he has no verifiable alibi, he had the means and the motive"- Hodgins said as he sat in the chair opposite to cam's, his feet lying on the desk. Cam shook her head; the entomologist was a bit too casual sometimes.

-"A few months ago yes, Booth would have got a confession out of that guy in a few minutes. But brown is a rookie and the evidence is circumstantial"-

Both sobered at the mention of their friend, ever since booth woke up from the coma his memory loss seemed to eliminate his personality. The man they knew was gone leaving only an empty shell.

-"so what now?"- Hodgins said grimly

-"Brennan has to come back to the stadium and perform, she's wearing a wire. Maybe she can get a confession out of Artie"-

-"Somehow I don't see Brennan talking her way into a confession"-

-"Sweets will speak to her through an earphone, he'll be close by pretending to be the president of the fans club she will also wear a miniature camera"-

-"I don't know cam, it's too dangerous. If this guy killed once he could do it again not to mention the guys of the cartel"- he shivered at the memory

-"They are dealt with; we let them know we're working for the FBI not the DEA"-

-"so the bureau actually made a deal with criminals? Cool!"-

-"Yeah, nonetheless, Brennan might be a black belt but I still don't like the idea of sending her to that circus so she can deal with a murderer. Brown said he would pass for a fan and look after her, if no one recognizes him which I doubt"-

-"So she's basically in the care of sweets and Brown, that's safe alright"- Hodgins grumbled

-"You know Dr Hodgins; I heard a rumour that you were dating Miss Grey. Maybe you could go backstage with her"-

-"That I could, and probably her manager should be around too."-

-"We might not be strong but we'll be many"-

-"did you say we?"-

-"I talked to Brennan; Serena's ego is so big she needs an assistant now"-

-"You're going undercover too? I can't believe Brennan agreed on that"-

-"Yes, and she had to agreed or I would blow her cover"- with booth out of the picture. Someone like Brennan who attracted danger like honey to bees needed a guardian; Cam was the only squint with a gun and police training.

It amazed her how every member of the Jeffersonian seemed to form a protective cocoon around temperance. She could still see that poor woman wondering around her partner's hospital bed, she hadn't left him for more than a few minutes. In spite of the obvious pain she was in she never lost her composure. But when Booth forgot her it was too much for her

Flashback

Camille walked through the hallway that led to booth's hospital room, according to Angela's hysterical sobs, he had woken up but he had forgotten everything, even his own name. When she arrived the door to the room was closed, several psiquiatrist and neurologist were examining him. Angela was crying on the doorstep while hodgings was hugging her tight, he told her Brennan had left the room in a hurry right after the doctors came in.

Cam walked in the direction hodgins had pointed out and found the usually stoic anthropologist curled into a ball crying on a bench nearby. She looked so small and frail, the stress and hurt she had been through were noticeable, she had lost weight and her eyes were surrounded by dark circles making them look even bigger.

What was she supposed to do? Cam wasn't good at counselling people, one of the reasons she chose to be a forensic was to avoid dealing with live patients! But she looked so… broken. No word of comfort seemed appropriate right now so she reached out for her gently, first holding her hands and then stroking her hair, two minutes later Brennan was cuddling by her side while cam was rocking her softly.

-"Everything will be alright Tempe. I'm here, we all are"- it was the only thing that crossed Camille's mind, without knowing that such statement became a vow.

None of them ever mentioned that moment, but ever since then Camille became temperance's protector and the squints followed her lead.

………………………………………………………..

In a few hours avatar would perform, but the real show would happen right after the concert was over when Brennan would get a taped confession of Artie.

Angela was now transformed into Sarah, cold and hard, applying now the several layers of make up on Temperance's face. Once she finished Brennan saw herself at the mirror and smiled with a coyness Temperance would never have, Brennan was gone Serena was now in charge.

She turned and saw the disguised and transformed squints and stated

-"Okay bitches…Showtime!"-


	8. Chapter 8

Clark Edison had stayed in the lab working extra hours, again. The rest of the squints were too busy with the murder case to give any help, a warrior who had died almost a thousand years ago could wait a little more. This lab might be the best but it was way too chaotic for his taste. Right now most of the team had gathered in Brennan's office with her in the middle of turmoil he didn't even want to hear about.

When everyone came out he had trouble recognizing them, Hodgins was in his usual clothing but the rest of the team were in disguise, he tried not to laugh when he saw Sweets dressed with black ragged clothing and many fake piercing, not to mention the make-up he had on. Still it was Cam's new appearance that struck him the most, she was wearing a pair of cheap jeans and a green t-shirt, her hair was loose and she wore no make-up, his impeccable boss looked now like and ordinary woman and she was beautiful that way. He resolved to go home to his girlfriend, that night he would ask her to take of her make up and wear an old t shirt before making love to her.

Serena Gray came out from Hodgins's Lamborghini walking like she were the centre of the universe, her "Boyfriend" followed her and placed a casual hand on her waist. To everyone around them they did look like a couple, only Brennan noticed his hand graced her skin but didn't touch her, a sign of respect.

Paparazzi were around the gate and took several pictures of the newly born rockstar and the usually discrete millionaire, after one performance Serena was more famous than Temperance had ever been, her entourage followed her and met her backstage.

-"I think you lost your mind Seeley"- Agent Perotta told her boyfriend, she used her badge to get into the concert.

-"No, the Jefersonian staff lost their mind; they're facing a cartel and a murderer by their own. Brennan could get killed"- There was no way in hell that he would let Temperance face a murderer with no more back up than a few scientist. No one in the lab gave information about Swanson's case. So he had to find everything by his own, they all looked at him with a mixture of pity and disappointment that made him feel like a handicap, nothing can be more frustrating that being in the shadow of your own previous self.

He heard voices' coming from Cassandra's changing room so he and Perotta hid in the janitor's closet nearby.

-"Who the fuck do you think you are dealing with huh?"- Serena yelled hysterically at Artie, Sweets instructed her to push him as much as possible to prepare the ground till after the concert. –"Our band is new grunge and you have me wearing shit that would make lady gaga blush! - She pointed at her outfit, an obscenely short silver dress with stiletto heels.

-"Talent alone won't get you to the big leagues; you gotta give something else to your fans"-

-"Like what a gynaecological view? This is low even for this business."- Sarah said from behind Serena. Mary, the new assistant gave the singer a pair of black leggings that would make her outfit a little more appropriate. While Serena changed in front of the group and insulted her assistant for being late, she took the opportunity to land Artie a low blow. Sweets was seeing everything from a hidden camera placed in Cam's (Mary) shirt, based on Artie's reaction he would elaborate the right approach.

-"You never told Cassandra to embarrass herself this way"- Serena's tone was as sharp as her tongue.

-"Unlike you she had dignity"- Artie's face could have been a confession on its own, rage anger and guilt.

From his hidden position Booth saw the entire scene, Perotta whispered into his ear –"am I hallucinating or was that a scantly clad Brennan bossing Saroyan around?-

-"It's like a play. The victim's manager did it; probably a passion crime. He loved Swanson and hates Brennan because she's taking her place"-

-"How do you know that?"-

-"He's easy to read"- was all Booth responded. He might be a dead weight for everyone around him but he still had it.

-"O-Kay so what now?"-

-"we are following them, if Brennan pushes the right buttons he might confess but if they push too hard he could try to kill her as well. Artie is not a professional killer but according to the forensic report on Swanson's case…"-

-"The one I had to steal for you?"- Perotta reprimanded

-"The death was fast, it probably took him a second to push her hard enough to kill her, we are intercepting them before they confront him. They'll have to solve the case from a different angle cause I'm not letting Brennan alone with that guy"-

"I saw the devil limping slightly

Towards the back of a filthy alley

Were life is taken daily

And the reaper likes to party"

Serena's voice rose with a raw darkness that scared Booth to the core, on that stage there was no sign of the woman he knew. Artie was looming behind the stage, the squints mingled in the crowd of employees and assistants. Hidden in her baggy pants Mary had a gun, Sarah and Hodgins had knives below their sleeves.

"From across the street I saw him chatting

With death, who held a whisky bottle

They asked me to cross over; I was waiting for a friend

I knew to them I wouldn't be a bother"

Fred had to be replaced by one of the members of Doomsday by midnight; he was too baked to get out of the trailer. Booth took the opportunity to try to talk to him before the concert was over, but when he opened the door he was greeted by the corpse of a young man. The needle was still in his arm, his skin was cold but there was no rigor mortis, he had died recently. He looked like a junkie but given the circumstances he suspected Artie might be involved, two days later Brennan would tell him it was a suicide, she knew he loved Cassandra too much to live without her.

"They just told me about their lives

The broken hopes and the dreams disrupted

They said the world was going mad

For even heaven was corrupted!

Much scarier than both of them

Was human kind with its wars and churches

And I no longer wait for anyone

And by the end of the unholy meeting

The devil and the reaper had befriended me by morning

Right were life is taken daily

And the reaper likes to party

Where darkness overcomes light

In the back of a filthy alley"

The concert was over and Booth tracked Brennan to Cassandra's changing room, she was fighting with Artie already

-"I'm firing you! And I'm taking the band with me"-

-"Suit yourself, you'll still have to pay me twenty percent of the royalties"- his voice raising

-"Nope, Cassandra signed your precious contract, I didn't. None of the guys are bound to you"- her tone was irritant, the voice hoarse from the yelling

-"I own the name of the band, the little notoriety you got won't survive changing the name"- he bluffed

-"Little? I've had more press in these two days than Avatar has ever had"-

-"Fine go, take those losers with you"- he was exhausted, that was a good sign

-"Oh and I'm selling the band's beginning story rights to the press, you know putting Cassandra's tale as a moral, showing what drug abuse can do to a person. It will be touching."-

-"What? You're gonna show Cassie as a junkie to the whole world so you can get some press? She didn't do anything to you bitch".-

-"Good dr Brennan, insult the victim's memory if we make him feel guilty he might confess"- Sweets told her from a microscopic earphone

-"She's dead she won't mind, face it no one cared about her she was just a druggie and a miserable wannabe"-

-"She never did drugs"- his tone threatening

-"Then why did she die with a needle stuck on her arm?"-

She knew he had cracked by the way Artie looked at her; he walked menacingly towards her and closed the distance between them in seconds. He was throwing his arms at her when another set of arms came from behind him and placed him in a chokehold that left him breathless, a swift manoeuvred later the manager was unconscious in the ground.

-"Booth?"- Brennan asked in utter shock, -"What the fuck are you doing? He was about to confess"-

-"He was about to get you killed temperance, didn't you see how he came at you?"-

-"Even if you were right which you are not, I could have handled it"-

Booth had spent enough time with Brennan to know arguing with that stubborn woman was pointless

-"Yeah well now you'll have to find another way to catch this guy, maybe one that doesn't require you to risk your life"-

-"There won't be another way, without a confession we can't hold him and tomorrow he's leaving to new York"- Cam came running to the scene, maybe Booth was right but she was tired and all her hard work their hard work was thrown in the garbage, Angela and jack Hodgins were right behind her.

-"Thanks a lot dude, we almost had him"- Jack snorted

-"You almost had a dead colleague in your hands"- Booth lashed at Hodgins, his protective instinct in overdrive

-"I had her back Booth; you're not the only one who can protect her"- the entomologist retorted

-"Really? As far as I can see you didn't make such a good job"- Booth faced him menacingly

For the first time in his life Hodgins didn't feel intimidated by the former FBI, this wasn't his buddy; this was just a pathetic fool that screwed things up. He was about to show him what a squint could do but before he could jump at Booth Angela stepped between them.

-"you know what booth? Bren was fine, hell everyone of us were just fine before you got here and we'll continue to do well long after you're gone"-

A tense silence fell in the room; Artie's limp form on the floor had been forgotten. The squints lined up facing Booth, another word from his part and they would beat him up. He knew he was in disadvantage, not because they were many, but because he could never raise a hand against them so he left without a word.

-"He's gone sweetie"- Angela told Brennan putting a hand on her shoulder, her best friend had a strange feverish expression on her eyes.

-"No Ange, he'll come back over and over again, he'll never let me be, not as long as he…"-

-Loves you?"- Angela whispered

"Lives" Brennan thought darkly, she had always feared love and the feelings of attachment because deep down she knew how dangerous and powerful they could be. The deepest, purest love could turn into blind hate in a split moment. It is almost a matter of survival. You hurt the ones you love, destroy them even, because if you don't you'll end up broken yourself. For the briefest moment she dared to fantasise with a world were Booth was no longer around, maybe dead. The fantasy died as fast as it was brewed but that was enough for Brennan to see the world in a different way.

In front of her she visualized the facts that occurred a few days ago. She saw Cassandra in front of her, fighting with Arite. She was leaving the band and her manager was trying to talk her out of it, probably menacing her with lawsuits and bankrupts but it wasn't about that, money had nothing to do with it. Artie loved her; he had poured his blood, sweat and tears on the business so she could be the star he knew she had in her.

It was a platonic love that he felt for her, and that was the problem. the passionate, platonic and unfulfilled romances are often the most destructive. Yet she was leaving everything for someone else, the boy she did love and that's when he killed her, he did it to save himself otherwise he would have lost his own soul. The sad thing was that he lost it anyway, when she died so did him, metaphorically speaking of course. Heartache was a course that lived longer than the one who caused it. Even if they never cached him he would always live in hell.

Brown and Sweets entered the dressing room right after Booth left. No one saw how empty and lifeless Brennan's eyes were because of those damn black contact lenses

-"Brown, arrest him"- she said pointing at the manger –"I know how to get a confession"-.

Two hours later Brennan was in the interrogation room of the bureau, in the dark side of the two way glass, on the other side Brown was taking the confessed murderer to his cell. Sweets was speechless, Brennan had instructed Brown through an earphone and in less than an hour Artie confessed.

-"How did you do it? I mean, interrogating was never your expertise"- Sweets wondered

-"Easy, I knew what he thought and how he felt and then manipulated the information to achieve a confession"-

-"And how did you achieved that knowledge?"-

-"For a moment, I understood his point of view, I know how he felt because I felt the same way"- She saw him, defying sweets to tell her some psychoanalytic rambling and face the consequences, instead the young man smiled at her and said

-"That was very… human of you, if you keep this up you'll end up being very good at this, even better than Booth was"-

She smiled at the boy proudly and allowed him to lead her outside, it was two a.m. already but the night was young, her friends were waiting outside and they had a successful case to celebrate.

…………………………………………………………

Warm, blinding rays of sunlight hit her face forcing her into consciousness. The last thing she remembered was going to a bar with her friends, her co workers and the band members as well, memories became blurry after the fifth tequila shot and seventh beer.

A sledgehammer pounded in her head, she scanned her surroundings and found herself in her apartment. How did she got there? Probably she was sober enough to get a cab. She noticed how dry her mouth was when she saw a tall glass of cold water on her bedside table next to a bottle of aspirins. There was no way she could had prepared that aside from taking her shoes, contacts, wig and make up.

The answer came to her when she left her bedroom and saw booth reading one of her books sitting casually on her couch.

-"what are you doing here? Go away"- She croaked

-"Good morning to you as well"- he mocked lightly

-"I'll never get read of you am I?"- She asked bitterly, in the edge of tears

-"No, kick me out, beat the shit out of me, do all you want. I will always come back for more"-

-"Why? You don't even know who I am"-

-"I know you are my friend, which is al the knowledge I need"-

-"Friendship has nothing to do with this, it is irrational, leave!"- She was panicking

-"Maybe but I'm following my gut on this and right now, that's all I have"- He said while picking up his things, he wanted to know she was alright before leaving. Temperance was hung-over and upset, he didn't want to make it worse.

-"There is fresh coffee on the kitchen. I'll come back tonight with some Chinese food, you need to eat a little more, you're bony"- his concern hidden by a joking tone.

-"Please don't, can't you just give me a break?"- She pleaded

-"Sorry Doc, I'm taking care of you whether you like it or not"- He smiled but he was dead serious.

-"I know"- she said on the verge of tears.

The end.


End file.
